This is where to start, because if we don't know how to pronounce the words how can we read and understand them?

I was just about to start a long boring sermon, when I found out that someone at the University of Exeter has done a tremendous job by creating an online ressource about German pronounciation, which contains explanations examples and sound files - and I must admit they are a whle lot better in explaining than I am!

Particularly the information about the "ch" sounds are highly recommended as the most useful essay on this sore spot about lerning German.

By the way, do you English native speakers have any idea how long we German native speakers make fools of ourselves and suffer while learning to pronounce [ð] an [þ]? You must know that lisping is assumed a speech defect in German speaking countries. ;o)